Arch support with ribbed surface

ABSTRACT

An arch support orthotic device is insertable into an item of footwear which comprises an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface of which is contoured to conform generally to the shape of the arch of a wearer&#39;s foot and is formed of a deformable semi-rigid material responding flexibly to the weight of the wearer and the lower surface of which faces the shoe inner sole surface of the item of footwear when inserted into said item, said lower surface comprising a plurality of ribs and crenellations, wherein said ribs and crenellations function during use to control the deformability of the device so as to reduce loss of the arch supporting function when worn by the wearer while preventing essentially complete deformation against the shoe inner sole surface of the wearer&#39;s footwear.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/839,775 filed Aug. 24, 2006.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRM LISTINGAPPENDIX SUBMITTED ON COMPACT DISC (SEE 37 CFR 1.52(e)(5))

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the field of arch support orthoticsfor feet, and more particularly to arch orthotics having a crenellatedsurface on the underside of the arch curve.

Typical prior art arch support orthotics are available in a variety ofconstruction materials such as cushioning materials, leather, resilientplastic, rubber, foam or metal devices that are designed to fit into thefootwear of a patient. They typically are shaped in the form of thehuman foot arch with the proximal (heel) and distal (toe) ends slopeddown laterally from the arch support region to rest on the shoe innersole, to provide support for the arch, as well as to promote comfort forthe wearer.

Arch supports come in a variety of shapes, configuration, angles, sizesand materials of construction and they are well-known to the art. Themere phrase “arch support” conjures up in the mind of one skilled in theart an immediate functional device designed to engage the arch of awearer to provide support and comfort thereto mainly to avoid theconsequences of flat feet, or fallen arches, including pain in the footand legs.

It is not surprising that the art has evolved through time andexperience into a collection of a myriad of versions of varyingcomplexity, design and structure. Merely as illustrative of the varioustypes of arch supports that one may find in the art, there are thefollowing: U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,115 B2, Title: Textured Arch SupportDevice and Method of Manufacturing; U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,131 B2, Title:Adjustable Arch Support Orthosis Including Variably Tensioned Arch Curveand Method of Utilizing Orthosis; U.S. Pat. No. 6,804,902 B1, Title:Adjustable Arch Support Orthosis Including Variably Tensioned Arch Curveand Method of Utilizing Orthosis; U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,199 B2, Title:Layered Arch Support, United States Patent Application Number2002/0092203 A1, Title: Insole with Rebounding and Cushioning Areas andAdjustable Arch Support; U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,115, Title: Textured ArchSupport Device and Method of Manufacture.

The disclosures of these patents and the patents cited therein areincluded herein by reference for all purposes, as though repeated atlength herein.

Although each of the prior art orthotic devices comes with itsidiosyncratic solution to some problem, a main deficiency of the priorart devices generally is that the arch support curved portion of theorthotic typically becomes irretrievably compressed by constant use,thereby losing its original curvature and the resiliency thereof.Lacking the original curvature, much of the arch support is lost leadingto fallen arches with subsequent arch and leg pain.

Shoe orthotics prescribed by medical practitioners are custom made andmay resolve the problem on an individual basis. Typically they are veryrigid and, being custom made, are usually very expensive.

The art is in dire need of a pre-made arch support orthotic that willfit the average person in the general population and provide rigid, yetflexible, support of the longitudinal foot arch, so that the orthoticarch curvature is comfortably deformable in response to the weight ofthe user, but not totally collapsible to the shoe inner sole surface.Since the orthotic must also be light enough in weight to be comfortableto the wearer, merely increasing the thickness of the orthotic device inthe arch region does not solve the problem because an unacceptableincrease in weight, and decrease in flexibility, is obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be better understood from the followingdescription of some exemplary embodiments of the invention, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like referencenumerals or letters refer to like parts.

FIG. 1 is a top view in two dimensions of an arch support orthotic ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the configuration of FIG. 1 lying on ahorizontal surface, illustrating the side view of the device and showingthe plurality of ribs and crenellations.

FIG. 3 is an elevation view of FIG. 1, rotated 1800 in the plane of thepaper about an imaginary point in the approximate center of the deviceof FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows the ribs and crenellations of the underside of FIG. 1 asseen by rotating the device of FIG. 1, 180° out of the plane of paperaround an imaginary horizontal center line drawn through the device,(such as dotted line 5-5A).

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along 5-5 of the orthotic of FIG. 1 showingthe ribs and crenellations at that section.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along 6-6 of FIG. 2 showing the heel sectionof the orthotic.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view along 7-7 of FIG. 2 showing a rib along theunderside of the orthotic in side view.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the ribs and crenellations of theunderside of the orthotic by slightly rotating the device of FIG. 4about an imaginary horizontal axis through the device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the invention provides an arch support orthotic wherein thesupporting arch curve has the effect of a larger thickness arch curve interms of flexible rigidity, but does not have an unacceptablyuncomfortable increase in weight. Thus, the arch support device isinsertable into an item of footwear and comprises an upper surface and alower surface, the upper surface of which is contoured to conformgenerally to the shape of the arch of a wearer's foot and is formed of adeformable semi-rigid material responding flexibly to the weight of thewearer and the lower surface of which faces the shoe inner sole surfaceof the item of footwear when inserted into said item, said lower surfacecomprising a plurality of ribs and crenellations, wherein said ribs andcrenellations function during use to control the deformability of thedevice so as to reduce loss of the arch supporting function when worn bythe wearer while preventing essentially complete deformation against theshoe inner sole surface of the wearer's footwear.

Another feature of the arch support orthotic of the invention is that itis removable from one shoe to another of like handedness.

Another feature is that the orthotic is controllably deformable underthe weight of the user so that it does not completely flatten in use andthereby lose its arch supporting feature.

The arch support orthotic of the invention thus comprises an archsupporting, arcuate or curved span comprising upper and lower surfaces,the upper surface defining an arch-receiving surface for the wearer andconforming generally to the contours of a human foot arch, and the lowersurface juxtaposed against, and facing the wearer's shoe inner solesurface, wherein said lower surface comprises a plurality of ribs andcrenellations which permit flexing of the device upon use, but preventcomplete flattening by reason of the dimensions of ribs and thecrenellation spaces between them. The orthotic is preferably a unitarydevice of a single molded plastic structure.

Those skilled in the art will at once appreciate that the generalslopes, angles and configurations, which are typical of the foot archsupport, may be employed in many possible combinations. The presentinvention is not dependent upon any particular shape, angle orconfiguration as long as the critical aspect of the ribbed andcrenellated elements is supplied to the arched curvature of theorthotic. Thus, any structure which is useable in the arch support artcan be employed as long as the ribs and crenellations, as hereindescribed, are provided.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1-8 of the drawings illustrate an arch support device 10 accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The device 10 comprises anupper surface 16, (FIG. 1) a lower surface 12, (FIG. 2) which containsribs 13 and crenellations 14, (shown for one rib and one crenellation,but generally extending the length of the desired arch support curve),device 10 being a rigid or semi-rigid but flexible material such aspolyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, subortholon and the like, adequateto provide arch support for the expected wearer. Upper surface 16 iscontoured to conform generally to the arch of a foot in the mannerwell-known in the art. Generally speaking, the surface 16 slopes gentlyfrom the medial high areas of the arch X down to the outside portion ofthe foot Y (See FIGS. 3 and 7). Arch support device 10 may be made infull foot length or a fraction thereof, as is well-known in the fieldfor conventional arch supports.

In one specific example of the arch support device of FIGS. I to 8,device 10 was constructed of polypropylene, or other relatively hard orrigid plastic material. As indicated in FIG. 5 the heel end 11 tapersdown in thickness along the length of the device starting approximatelyat the point where the bottom of the arch support curve meets the sole.The heel region 25 is preferably thinner at 19 than the thickness of thearch curve support 18 for the wearer's comfort.

As can be seen from FIG. 5, the thickness of the arch support curvesection 18 of device 10, may be of the order of 5 to 10 mm, while thethickness 19 in the heel region may be 0.5 to 2 mm. These dimensions arenot critical and are generally determined by the manufacturer inconsideration of the comfort required by the wearer and manufacturingconsiderations. While having appropriate flexibility to avoid the senseof standing on a block of wood, the user's foot will be supportedproperly in the arch region and the ribbed surface 17 will preventcollapsing of the main arch support section directly against the shoeinner sole surface (not shown) and thus maintain the desired supportingfunction. Of course, the geometry of the lower surface 17 and surface 12will direct the deformability of the device incrementally up the archfrom the proximal end 20 and distal end 15, as the ribs in thesesections are depressed. The length of the ribs 23 preferably decreasegradually as one proceeds up the arch support curve from the distal end15 and then continue gradually decreasing as the proximal end 20 isapproached. This is a preferred configuration. For constructionpurposes, a deformability of the arch support section at the high pointof the arch support is suitably about 15% to about 50% of the distancefrom the highest section of the arch to the shoe inner sole surface.

Consideration should be given to the dimensions of the ribs and thecrenellations in the context of the thickness 18 of the support regionand desired weight capacities. For different categories of users, theribs may be modified as to length and width to prevent full collapse inthe arch region and thus maintain a full arch for support.

If substantial collapse occurs, proper rib length will prevent totalcollapse of the arch support surface. The distance 21 between the ribsin the support region may be closer in the case of heavier users ascompared to those used for less heavy wearers. In this regard, theremight be, for example, separate categories for wearers over 200 pounds,one for wearers between 150-200 pounds and one for wearers up to 150pounds. There may also be categories as to shoe sizes. Thedeterminations of these parameters, however, are well within the skillof the art.

In general, the closer together the ribs, the more supportive the deviceand the more rigid the arch support region. Therefore, a balance shouldbe struck, depending on particular desires of the manufacturer, inconsideration of the market demands, in selecting rib or crenellationsdepth 22, rib separation distance 21 and rib length and width 23 and 24of ribs and depth 22 of the crenellations.

In consequence of the three dimensional nature and convoluted shape ofthe orthotic device and the shape of the foot in the arch area slopingfrom the medial high arch region X down to the outside position Y (SeeFIG. 7) and the narrowing shape toward the heel section, the rib lengthand crenellation depth decrease the closer to the Y section the devicecomes.

We have found that suitable flexibility is obtained when the open spacebetween ribs is approximately equal to the actual rib width, althoughsubstantial variations around these dimensions can be tolerated.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the dimensions of the ribsand crenellations leading from the highest point in the arch curvaturein a given plane (e.g. from X to Y in FIG. 7) of the foot to the lowestpoint may vary gradually as to the crenellation depth and width and riblength and width to provide a smooth, gentle reduction in size of theelement as they get closer to the outer edge of the foot.

There will be many combinations of dimensions that may be employed inproducing devices within the scope of the invention. In large part,these will be interdependent and will also depend on the rigidity of thecomposition selected by the manufacturer.

In some exemplary embodiments, we have used various rib lengths, ribwidths, crenellation depths and widths and support surface thicknesseswhich are suitable to a polypropylene construct.

For example, rib lengths about 0.125 inches or less to about 0.5 inchesor more have produced suitable results. Rib spacing equal to rib widthsare also suitable and can range from about 0.125 inches to about 0.375inches, although values outside this range may be employed if desired.Rib lengths and crenellation depths can taper down to zero as the outersection of the foot is approached.

The configuration of the heel section, though shown in the drawings in ahook shape is not critical. The carved-out section is chosen to reducethe weight of the orthotic while the extended hook gives stability tothe device during wear.

1. An arch support orthotic device insertable into an item of footwearwhich comprises an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surfaceof which is contoured to conform generally to the shape of the arch of awearer's foot and is formed of a deformable semi-rigid materialresponding flexibly to the weight of the wearer and the lower surface ofwhich faces the shoe inner sole surface of the item of footwear wheninserted into said item, said lower surface comprising a plurality ofribs and crenellations, wherein said ribs and crenellations functionduring use to control the deformability of the device so as to reduceloss of the arch supporting function when worn by the wearer whilepreventing essentially complete deformation against the shoe inner solesurface of the wearer's footwear.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein saidribs are of sufficient length to prevent complete deformability of saidlower surface to the shoe sole inner surface of the wearer's footwear.3. The device of claim 1 wherein the width of said crenellations aresufficient to prevent complete deformability of said lower surface tothe sole of the wearer's footwear.
 4. The device of claim 1 wherein saidribs are of sufficient length to prevent complete deformability of saidlower surface to the shoe sole inner surface of the wearer's footwearand the width of said crenellations are sufficient to prevent completedeformability of said lower surface to the sole of the wearer'sfootwear.
 5. The device of claim 4 wherein said upper surface and saidlower surface are part of a unitary device.
 6. The device of claim 5wherein the device comprises a heel section and a toe section attachedto the arch support section at the respective ends thereof.